Wearing her blue and gold high school letter jacket, which proudly displays a huge championship emblem on the back, Lesley (Carter) Blethen, a 1985 graduate of Boothbay Region High School and now postmaster at the Boothbay Harbor Post Office, talked about her high school basketball experience, what it means to be an athlete and other topics as the guest speaker at the BRHS winter sports banquet on March 5.

“Out of all of the different sports I have been involved in, basketball has always been my passion,” said Blethen, who was a junior on the BRHS 1984 girls Class C championship team.

Blethen said her sporting career began as a swimmer in grades 2 through 6.

“I understand what a strenuous and demanding sport swimming can be. We used to practice for two hours and be completely exhausted .... What I also remember about my swimming days was the energy of my teammates in the pool and the hard work being put out by everyone,” Blethen said.

Blethen also talked about her limited cross-country skiing experience and the endurance it takes. And she got the crowd laughing when she talked about her even more limited wrestling background.

“The closest I have come to the sport of wrestling is with my brother and sister growing up. My brother, some of you might know, is a big guy and was a big kid. He used to make a circle on the front lawn and tell the kids in the neighborhood if we could get him out of the circle then we could beat him up and he would not fight back. I think we might have succeeded one time at pushing him out of the circle but it took like six of us to accomplish that,” Blethen said.

After talking about cheerleading and mentioning how demanding a sport it is, Blethen went to finish her speech by talking about basketball.

Blethen she didn't make the school team until seventh grade because she was on the Y swim team through sixth grade.

“From that point on my focus was on school and basketball. We were a team where everyone had a role. My role was to play solid defense for our team. To this day, defense is my favorite responsibility on the basketball court. There is nothing more intense and satisfying than getting low and working hard to protect your basket and not letting the other team score,” Blethen said.

After entering high school, Blethen said she had fun playing on the JV team her freshman year for Coach Bob Bolduc, but when she became a sophomore, she had doubts about continuing.

“I almost didn't play basketball because I wasn't sure if I wanted to play at that level. The other concern I had was having to deal with the dynamics of the other girls and their personalities and the time commitment that was required. Two days before tryouts I remember thinking about how much I loved basketball, being part of the team, and the reward of the hard work. So I tried out and made the varsity team. I was so excited to be a part of something that was great,” Blethen said. “Did I ride the bench some, yes. But that didn't bother me. I appreciated what I was given and I worked hard for it. Our team was a talented group of players who worked hard on and off the court.

“My junior year was special because that is the year we won the gold ball. Thirty years ago we were the Class C state champions and we have not seen that happen since then. We are long overdue. Was I a starter, no. Do I feel like I helped contribute to our team’s success, yes. The reason I know this is because I know it takes a whole team to accomplish that kind of success.”

Blethen said finding success and a worthwhile experience is not found by thinking about yourself; it’s found by thinking about what you can do to help your team get where they want to be.

“My wish now is that my daughters and their classmates, both upperclassmen and underclassmen, will have an opportunity to feel that experience some day. I want them to feel that sense of pride and accomplishment that you get from putting in your time, working hard, being unselfish and serving in your role, whatever that role may be on your team.

“My wish for the seniors is that you will take your experience with Boothbay Region athletics and use the life lessons it has taught you. Use the lesson about putting team first so you can help the company you go to work for be successful. Use the lessons you learned about making personal sacrifices to build a character that you and others will respect.

“Finally, use the lesson we hope you have learned here, which is best captured by motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, and my former boss Rene Albert, who always used to tell me, 'Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude' in your life.”